Hard.Copy - 17 April 1998

ARTICLE CITATIONS GATHERED FROM COMMERCIALLY PUBLISHED
JOURNALS AND NEWSLETTERS.

Long Shot For Satellite Launch.
Aerospace America, Apr 01, 1998, pp 32-38
John A. Morgan, Ernest Y. Robinson
One alternative to rocket launching of spacecraft is direct launch to
space from the barrel of a gun. Nanotechnology and miniature satellites
have made various forms of gun launches more feasible, thereby
eliminating first stage.
House Bill Urges Missile Defense Cooperation With Russia.
Aerospace Daily, Apr 13, 1998, p 70
According to a House-passed authorization, the US should cooperate with
Russia on issues related to missile defense. As the US proceeds to
develop defenses against a ballistic missile attack, this bill calls for
the US "to foster a climate of cooperation." One of the areas the bill
outlines for cooperation is early warning. The bill is expected to be
vetoed by President Clinton.
BMDO Delays EKV Intercept Test.
Aerospace Daily, Apr 13, 1998, p 70
After reports that BMDO was pursuing an NMD program with too much risk
and not enough testing, two EKV intercept tests have been delayed.
Boeing and Raytheon are competing over use of their EKV interceptor in
the NMD architecture.
Institute Names Russian Missile Defense Companies In Iranian Deals.
Aerospace Daily, Apr 15, 1998, p 86
Three Russian companies that manufacture missile hardware have been
implicated as attempting to sell hardware to Iran.
Spectrum Astro Awaits Government Response To SBIRS-Low Interest.
Aerospace Daily, Apr 14, 1998, pp 73-74
Spectrum Astro, an Arizona based company, is waiting for a sign from the
government to see if there is interest in an alternate competitor for
the $4 billion SBIRS-Low contract.
Timely Requirements, Stable Budget Seen Needed For SBIRS Launch.
Aerospace Daily, Apr 14, 1998, pp 74-75
The outcome of the SBIRS-Low planned first launch by 2004 depends
greatly on the government's requirements and stable funding. The
SBIRS-Low requirements are slated to go before the Pentagon's Joint
Requirements Oversight Council later this year.
Missile Activities By Pakistan, Iran Prompt BMDO Concern.
Aerospace Daily, Apr 17, 1998, pp 97-98
BMDO recently proposed future plans to stop anticipated missile threats
from Pakistan and Iran to the US intelligence community. Congress is
expected to pass the DoD's emergency supplemental bill, which includes
$147m for dealing with the future missile threat.
DoD Works To Keep MEADS Alive.
Aerospace Daily, Apr 17, 1998, p 99
The Pentagon is studying several options to keep the MEADS program
alive. LtGen Lyles stated that DoD is eager to keep the MEADS
international partnership. The program has been plagued with funding
problems and there seems to be no guarantee that there will be funding
after FY99.
HNSC Member 'Outraged' By Apparent Iran-Kazakhstan Nukes Deal.
Aerospace Daily, Apr 16, 1998, p 94
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) was "outraged" that Iran got four nuclear
warheads from Kazakhstan and said he will "make it a major case" when
Congress returns next week.
Spectrum Astro To Bid For SBIRS-Low.
Aviation Week & Space Technology, Apr 13, 1998, pp 57-58
Spectrum Astro Inc. is seeking to pull together partners to bid against
a Lockheed Martin/Boeing/Aerojet team and a TRW/Raytheon Team for an
estimated $3.8b contract to build the SBIRS-low system. The Air Force
plans to award two $100m definition phase contracts for SBIRS-low around
October and pick a single team two years later to build the system. The
Air Force's final contract is expected to require the first SBIRS-low
satellites to be ready in 2004 and the final constellation to be
completed in 2007.
Viewpoint: Missile Defense: There's Still Hope.
Aviation Week & Space Technology.
Jim Courter, Loren Thompson, Apr 13, 1998, p 86
"The ABL is the highest-leverage, most promising approach to theater
missile defense. It would even be treaty compliant. So, of course, both
the right wing and left wing are attacking it, mostly for ideological
reasons. Fortunately, the Clinton Administration, Air Force and defense
scientific community have embraced it. Whatever changes may be needed in
other facets of US missile defense efforts, the Airborne Laser clearly
deserves continued support."
BMDO Industry Days.
Defense Daily, Apr 13, 1998, p 3
BMDO and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) will hold
their annual briefing to industry on April 16-17, at the Crystal Gateway
Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA. The theme for Forum 98 is "Making Joint
Air and Missile Defense a Reality." To kick off the briefing, BMDO chief
AF LtGen Lester Lyles will unveil his "Strategic Plan" for the future of
missile defense. Other topics of discussion include: National Missile
Defense; Theater Missile Defense; MEADS, technology export limitations;
treaty issues; and BMDO's new "Technology Master Plan."
BMDO Chief Lyles Warns Of Funding Woes Ahead.
Defense Daily. George Cahlink, Apr 17, 1998, p 5
The international cooperative MEADS remains a key missile defense
requirement, but future funding for the forward-deployed air defense
system is uncertain, according to AF LtGen Lyles, director of the BMDO.
Reinventing DoD Test And Evaluation.
Defense Issues. Kaminski, P., Oct 03, 1995, pp 1-4
"It's easy to insist on the best design or perfect test plan. It's
harder to field systems that work and are affordable. The test community
needs a cultural change." This article contains the prepared remarks of
Paul G. Kaminski, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and
Technology, to the International Test and Evaluation Association
Symposium, Huntsville, AL, Oct. 3, 1995.
Nuclear Deterrence Provides US Irreplaceable Option.
Defense News. Keith Payne, Apr 13, 1998, p 21
US policymakers have sought to align the US nuclear deterrent posture
with the new strategic environment. Since deterrence is critical to US
security as it faces regional challengers armed with chemical,
biological or nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and US does not
have reliable capability to destroy challengers' WMD, deterrence must be
as foolproof as possible.
India-US Defense Group To Meet: BJP Leaders Seek To Allay Concerns About
Nuclear Position. Defense News. Vivek Raghuvanshi, Apr 13, 1998, p 24
Top body governing India-US defense relations will meet this week with
Indian officials seeking to calm US concerns about the new Bharatiya
Janata government's stance on nuclear weapons.
DoD Analysis Finds JASSM More Capable Than SLAM-ER.
Inside The Pentagon, Apr 16, 1998, pp 9-10
SecDef Cohen told Congress that the Navy's Standoff Land Attach
Missile-Expanded Response is relatively less survivable, lethal and cost
effective than the proposed Joint Air-to-Surface-Standoff Missile
against similar targets.
Peace Group Reports North Korea Ready To Curtail Missile Program.
Inside the Pentagon. Keith J. Costa, Apr 09, 1998, p 2
A report by the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests that North Korea
may be willing to negotiate limits to its missile program. The report
also claims that North Korean officials consider the financial crisis
its top priority.
Air Force's Planned Test Launches From Alaska Site Prompts Contention.
Inside the Pentagon.
Darcia R. Harris; Elaine M. Grossman, Apr 09, 1998, pp 1,13-14
This article discusses the ongoing dispute between the Air Force and
BMDO concerning radar tests using missiles launched from Kodiak Island,
Alaska. These tests have NMD application, but have not been approved by
BrigGen Joseph Cosumano as part of the Joint NMD program.
How Should US React to Disparity in Weapons? Experts Diverge on US
Response To Shrinking Russian Nuclear Force.
Inside The Pentagon. Elaine M. Grossman, Apr 16, 1998, pp 1, 15-17
Experts in and outside the US government differ in their recommendations
for how the United States should prepare for a potential precipitous
drop in the size of the Russian nuclear weapons arsenal over the next
few years.
Pakistan's First Test Of Its New Ballistic Missile.
Jane's Defence Weekly. Rahul Bedi, Apr 15, 1998, p 4
The first test of Pakistan's new ballistic missile, the Hatf 5 or
'Ghauri', took place on 6 April. Statements from the Pakistani
government said that the missile has a maximum range of 1,500 km, a
payload of 700 kg and a launch weight of 16,000 kg. Claims that the
missile was tested over land are confusing as the length of Pakistan's
territory does not allow for the range attributed to 'Ghauri'. Other
reports have indicated that the missile was test launched from a
location near Jhelum in northeast Pakistan to the area southwest of
Quetta, a range of about 800 km to 1,000 km, which would agree with the
reported flight time of around eight minutes.
Three Nations Plan Combined TMD Task Force.
Jane's Defence Weekly. Joris Janssen Lok, Apr 15, 1998, p 6
Germany, the Netherlands, and the US are discussing the establishment of
a combined deployable ground-based air defense (GBAD) task force,
according to Dutch Defense Minister Joris Voorhoeve. The modular task
force of Patriot and HAWK surface-to-air missile units would be capable
of TMD. According to Voorhoeve, the advantage of such a force will be
that in a crisis, GBAD units of the three countries will be able to
deploy at very short notice and quickly form a fully integrated combined
TMD cluster overseas.
RVSN Revival Rests With The Topol-M.
Jane's Intelligence Review. Steven J. Zaloga, Apr 01, 1998, pp 5-7
The development and capabilities of the Topol-M missile will be critical
to the overall success of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN).
The Topol-M will be the only ICBM in production over the next decade.
The article describes the various attributes of the Topol, test launch
dates, comparative data of the Topol and Topol-M, and production
capability.
Across The Great Divide: Will Assad Go For The Golan?. Jane's
Intelligence Review. Sean Boyne, Apr 01, 1998, pp 21-26
While most of the article focuses on whether Syria will spring an attack
on the Golan Heights, the political and social situation in Syria, and
Syria's overall military capabilities, there are also aerial photographs
of Syria's strategic missile architecture, include CW production sites.
Control Of Thermal Deformations Of Spherical Mirror Segment. Journal Of
Spacecraft And Rockets. Rakesh K. Kapania, P. Mohan, A. Jakubowski, Mar
01, 1998, pp 156-162
Control of thermal deformations of a thin hexagonal spherical mirror
segment using discrete and distributed actuators is presented. To
determine the effectiveness of the actuators in controlling the thermal
deformations of the mirror segment, a comparative study is conducted
using two different models of the mirror-actuator system: 1) the mirror
mounted on kinematic supports and controlled by piezoelectric strips
bonded to the rear surface of the mirror and 2) the mirror mounted on
force actuators, which are used to support the mirror as well as to
control the surface deformations of the mirror. The performance of
evenly distributed strips and that of strips placed at near-optimal
locations obtained using heuristic integer programming are also
compared. Both force actuators and piezoelectric strips are found to be
equally effective in controlling the surface deformations of the mirror.
A major drawback of the force actuators is the increase in the overall
weight of the system, which is undesirable for space applications. On
the other hand, the piezoelectric strips are very lightweight, and hence
a large number of such strips can be used to control the surface
distortions of the mirror without imposing a weight penalty. The
piezoelectric strips appear to be promising candidates for static shape
control of flexible structures in space.
Midcourse Space Experiment Contamination Measurement During Cryogen
Phase. Journal Of Spacecraft And Rockets. O.M. Uy, R.C. Benson, R.E.
Erlandson, M.T. Boies, D.M. Silver, L.C. Lesho, Mar 01, 1998, pp 170-176
In-orbit measurements with contamination-monitoring instruments were
used to validate the Midcourse Space Experiment contamination model and
to investigate the phenomenon of molecular and particle generation in
space. Measurements from the first orbit contact through the first 10
months showed water vapor as the largest gaseous species, with argon gas
from a venting source important only during the first week in orbit.
Simple reporting tools were used for rapid assessment of the spacecraft
environment during early operations. The contamination levels and the
decay rate of water vapor around the spacecraft were found to be in
excellent agreement with prelaunch predictions. Future measurements
include validation of the model of the aging spacecraft and
investigation of the degradation of thermal radiators.
Local Environment Surrounding The Midcourse Space Experiment Satellite
During Its First Week. Journal Of Spacecraft And Rockets. B.D. Green,
G.E. Galica, P.A. Mulhall, O.M. Uy, J.C. Lesho, M.T. Boies, Mar 01,
1998, pp 183-190
The environment measured surrounding the complex Midcourse Space
Experiment spacecraft during its first week on orbit is reported. A
suite of instruments including a pressure sensor, a neutral and an ion
mass spectrometer, quartz crystal microbalances, and flashlamp-based
water and particle detectors were activated within hours after launch.
These instruments measured the gaseous composition, particulate, and
film accretion temporal histories. Spacecraft environment cleanliness
and response to operational activities were used to guide decisions
about sensor operation. As a result of careful material selection and
ground preparation procedures, the measured levels of condensable
species were sufficiently low to permit safe sensor operation after only
a few days in orbit.
State Department Seeks A 'Major Say' On Weapons: Arms Control Agency's
Quest Riles Critics In Pentagon.
Washington Times, Apr 09, 1998, pp A1,A12
State department diplomats want a major voice in what high-technology
weapon systems the Pentagon develops. Critics of the program believe it
is just an attempt by anti-defense officials to limit and regulate new
weapons programs. According to John D. Holum, ACDA director, its
compliance review group needs a say in important decisions "to avoid
unexpected diplomatic and policy consequences stemming from compliance
decisions."